


Little Pig, Little Pig

by Unfortunate



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, M/M, Marauders, Other, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 12:16:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10719177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unfortunate/pseuds/Unfortunate
Summary: Remus Lupin lives on his own in the woods, until one day a Big Bad Dog comes in to blow his whole life over.





	Little Pig, Little Pig

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you so much for opening my story! I just want to let you know that this is supposed to take place around the beginning of Prisoner of Azkaban, but Remus isn't working for Hogwarts in this. Maybe he'll get the job later, I don't know. I'm just writing this when I'm bored at work. 
> 
> Sorry this first part is short!
> 
> Anyway! Thanks again! I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
> 
> Also, I own none of the characters. Just, y'know.

     An aroma of Chamomile and hints of orange wafted towards Remus’ nose. He breathed in graciously, as he tended to do every night, with the same cup of Chamomile tea in the same chipped ceramic mug, curled up within the same corduroy armchair.

     He had no qualms with the repetition.

      It was quaint and comfortable. He’d had his fair share of change in life, and now he felt it was time to let the past stay behind him, and try to enjoy what he could of the now.

     Up until five years ago, Remus had been from odd job to odd job. Accepting every paying task waved in front of him, from delivery jobs in Diagon alley all the way to janitorial positions in muggle businesses. Still, he barely made enough each day to feed himself at night. One day, as he was taking out the rubbish bin in a muggle inn, he found the jobs section of a local newspaper.

     This was nothing new to him, as it was how he normally found his next means of a meal, but something on the page stood out to him. An advertisement that stated in bold, dark letters that it was looking for ‘Lovers of Nature!’, and those who liked to ‘...Keep to themselves’. It was followed by a statement about free housing and a phone number belonging to the South Downs National Park. When he got back inside, he asked one of his co-workers about it. They told him they’d heard from a friend that the parks were hiring new rangers to live in the woods and take care of the upkeep and security, but no one seemed to want the job because it was so far from the city. It was isolated from practically everything and the woods were apparently haunted.

     Remus gaped at the page, thinking that it seemed like it was too good to be true. Of course, he probably had none of the qualifications. They would most likely want some piece of parchment saying that he’d been to a muggle school for a few years, as so many jobs before had asked for, but nothing was written on the page about it. He thought it over, building himself up for the let down, yet preparing to call and ask anyway.

     It was one of the best decisions of his life when he did. They had been wanting a new Park Ranger of sorts to simply keep an eye out and do maintenance at his assigned section of the park. They told him over the phone that they normally ask for a ‘Degree’ from incoming Rangers, so they know what they were doing, but his job was more along the lines of a scout. He’d report anything suspicious to seasoned Rangers who would take care of things instead. They offered him the job almost immediately out of desperation, since too many people were afraid of the supposed haunting.

     Soon he was moved into his small cabin, which was made up of one room. A fireplace sat in the middle of the farthest wall, and a small bathroom and shower were tucked away behind a folding door.

     There were others working and living there just like him, only quite far away in their own houses. They all kept in touch through some muggle invention called a ‘Walkie Talkie’, though Remus never bothered with it. He just liked to listen to the crackle as it turned on and the voices hissed through his cabin.

     Sometimes Remus wondered how he deserved to be so lucky. He no longer lived in (as much) fear during full moons, as no one was ever around for him to hurt. His cabin was so far back in the woods, that it took a good hour sometimes just to hike to his car. The distance from civilization made him feel less dangerous, and thus at ease. So he sat, just like every night before for the past five years, in his corduroy armchair and sipped his lightly sweetened chamomile tea, and just breathed.

     Within a second, his breath caught. He had heard a twig snap near the side of the small cabin. Although he knew it was more than likely a deer or bird, or some other form of wildlife, the hairs on the back of his neck stood when he heard another crack closer to the front of the house. Remus tried to calm himself. He heard noises constantly out there, but sometimes they surprised him, as they were at that moment. Maybe it was the silly rumour of the place being haunted that never really left the back of his head five years ago.

     A third snap made him jump out of his seat and fly at his wand, grasping until he had it firmly at his side.

     Remus stepped towards the front door quietly, tightening his jaw as if it would silence his breathing.

     There was a knock at the door. Three small raps that were so quiet, Remus would not have heard them had he still been sat down. Then the knocks came again, only a bit louder this time, and far more urgent. The doorknob jiggled. Whoever it was out there was trying to break in now.

     Remus stepped closer to the door and rested his hand on the knob. His voice quivered, but he just barely got it loud enough to ask,

 

     “Who is it? What do you want?”

 

     It went silent outside, too silent. As if whoever was on the other side had shushed the world. Suddenly, a raspy voice sighed in relief,

 

     “Remus? Is that you? Oh, thank merlin I’ve found you.”

 

     Remus froze. There was some kind of familiarity in the voice, like he knew who it was, but every nerve in his being told him not to open the door. He hesitated, knowing he was about to make a mistake. He turned the knob, and propped the door open very slightly.

     It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the dark, but when they did, he received no answers. Before him stood a dark figure, face gaunt and aged, with a head of thick black hair that covered his eyes and reached his belly button, and had a beard to match. There was nothing friendly or familiar about this man in front of him, but the man spoke to him again as if they were brothers,

     “Remus! Oh my dear Remus! It’s so good to see you!” The man was rushing and looking around him as if he were in a hurry, “Can I come in? Please? You see I’m in a bit of a -”

 

     “Who are you?” Remus cut him off. The man stopped and looked as if he was physically wilting. He stepped closer to the door so that some of the cabins light illuminated his face. Some of his dirty, matted hair fell out of the way, revealing sunken grey eyes,

 

     “Moony… It’s me.” The man croaked out right before Remus slammed the door shut. Remus’ blood started to boil, and he could feel his heart sputter as he became filled with adrenaline. He’d had nightmares about this before, and he was sure this was just another one, so he pinched his arm to wake himself up but it just wasn’t working. Panic bubbled in his throat.

  
     Sirius Black had finally come to kill him.


End file.
